re: #140 Charles

And now the Washington Times is pushing a ridiculous story that even NASA is hiding the truth: Researcher: NASA hiding climate data - Washington Times

That “researcher” is Chris Horner of the CEI, one of the most rabid deniers in the business.

Here’s the skinny on Horner, from the article, corrected as needed:

Mr. Horner, a noted global warming skeptic and author of The Politically Scientifically Incorrect Guide to Global Warming and Environmentalism, wants a look at to cherry pick the data and the discussions that went into those changes. He said he’s given the agency until the end of the year to comply or else he’ll sue to compel the information’s release.

The article continues

NASA’s GISS was forced to update its data in 2007 after questions were raised by Steve McIntyre, who runs ClimateAudit.com.

GISS had initially listed the warmest years as 1998, 1934, 2006, 1921 and 1931. After Mr. McIntyre’s questions GISS rejiggered the list and 1934 was warmest, followed by 1998, 1921, 2006 and then 1931. But since then, the list has been rewritten again so it now runs 1998, 2006, 1934, 1921, 1999.

The institute blamed a “minor data processing error” for the changes but says it doesn’t make much difference since the top three years remain in a “statistical tie” either way.

Indeed it doesn’t make much difference. The much balleyhooed replacement of 1998 with 1934, if that is correct, is beside the point. Take the list in the order the denialists would like best: 1921, 1933, 1934, 1998, 2006. That’s still front-loaded toward recent times. And where are the 1800s?

What’s more, the denialists have no answer to photos of Glacier National Park from the early 1900s and the comparison to current photos, no answer to the current arctic sea ice levels and how thin the ice is compared to Peary’s days, and no answer indeed to most of the mass of plain fact that is there for anyone with eyes to see. Species ranges are shifting up slope and north. Migration patterns are shifting to later in fall, earlier in spring. The list is endless. And the trumpets blare forth the latest little glitch.

Even if Tiger Woods misses a hole, or hits a fire hydrant, grass is still green.